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Stockstill comments on the AFL players

The Orioles are sending eight players to the Arizona Fall League. They are pitchers Brandon Erbe, Josh Perrault, Ryohei Tanaka and Eddie Gamboa. Also headed to play for the Phoenix Desert Dogs are position players Brandon Snyder, Josh Bell, Matt Angle and Brandon Waring.

"We wanted to get people who are prospects and guys that could help us at the big leagues in the future. We are allowed one starter and three relievers. With pitchers we looked at the amount of innings they've thrown," O's Director of Player Development David Stockstill said of the eight.

"We wouldn't send anyone to the Fall League that we didn't have a lot of confidence in. These spots are precious."

Here are Stockstill's comments on the eight players.

Brandon Erbe - "He did miss part of the season and here's a chance for him to get more innings. He'll pitch maybe four innings a week out there. He's shown outstanding progress this year and this will make up for some innings he missed out on this year."

Stockstill added that Chorye Spoone was not far enough along in his rehab to be considered for the AFL.

Josh Perrault - "Has been a real competitive pitcher at Double and Triple-A. He throws strikes and pitches to contact. He's got a very good sinker and slider and throws about 90,91. We want to get more looks at him."

Eddie Gamboa - "He's had an outstanding year and pitched well at each level. He has a nasty split-finger type pitch and a good changeup and has real good sink and run on his fastball. We feel like with him being 24, we wanted to extend his season and face that caliber of hitter to accelerate his development."

Rhoyei Tanaka - "He's been very impressive at Double-A. He throws strikes and pitches to contact with a good slider. He has a hard sinker and very, very good command. Because he joined us late we wanted him to get more innings and get him accelerated toward possible help for our Major League team someday."

Brandon Snyder - "Just had an outstanding year, he's made progress in every area. Right now there could be competition for first base in the big leagues next year. This is an opportunity to get him some more at bats and work more at first base."

Because Snyder played in the Fall League last year did they considered sending someone else ? "We like Brandon very much and he's at Triple-A now. There could be a competition at first next year and we wanted to accelerate his development for that competition."

Josh Bell - "We like his power and ability to drive the ball. He has real solid quickness with his wrists. Just want to get him more time at third base and this gives us a chance to see him more."

Matt Angle - "He's been our center fielder at Frederick, he runs well and made enough progress that we feel he belongs out there. He's had a very good season. This will get him some more at bats and more chance to work on his swing."

Brandon Waring - "He's had a wonderful year at Frederick, playing first and third. He's shortened his swing and cut down on his strikeouts. He shows very, very good power potential. We'll get him more at bats and more experience here."

Waring is a "taxi squad" player meaning he can only play on Wednesday and Saturday. He could be added to the full-time roster if there is an injury.

While the manager and coaches for that Phoenix team come from outside the organization, the O's will send some of their own people to Arizona to watch and help the Orioles' prospects.

Bowie field coach Moe Hill will be there, minor league pitching co-ordinater Dave Schmidt will spend some time there, along with Stockstill, roving infield instructor Alex Arias and several O's scouts.

The O's players will be joined on the Desert Dogs by players from the A's, Rays, Blue Jays and Nationals. The AFL season starts October 13th.